The Wide-Awake Princess (16 page)

The hook barely missed hitting Liam when it fell. “Here’s your problem,” he said, picking it up to show the prince. “The tip of the hook is broken off.”

Prince Cozwald looked stricken when he wailed, “How will we ever get in?”

“Leave that to me,” said Liam. “I love rock climbing, and this shouldn’t be very different.”

After a quick smile in Annie’s direction, he hung the hook on his belt and strode to the stone wall, where he raised his hands as high as he could reach. Annie was amazed when he grabbed hold of a tiny projection and pulled himself up the wall. With his toes fitting into small gaps between the stones and his fingers gripping edges so small that Annie couldn’t even see them, Liam climbed the face of the tower. Disappearing through the window, he emerged a moment later without the hook.

“Good thinking,” said Cozwald. Turning to Annie, he added, “He’s fastened it to something. See, he’s coming down now.”

Liam held on to the rope and climbed down the wall even faster than he had climbed up. “Now it’s my turn,” said Cozwald. Grabbing hold of the rope, he climbed hand over hand up the wall with the agility of a squirrel.

“I’m not sure I can do that!” Annie said, turning to Liam.

“You won’t have to. Here,” he said, tying a loop in the rope. “When I reach the window, put your foot in this loop, wrap the rope around you like this, and I’ll pull you up.” He demonstrated what he meant until she was sure she could do it. When she was ready, he took the rope in his hand and peered up at the window. “You know, you really don’t have to do this. I’ve fought ogres before without anyone’s help.”

“And did those ogres have magic?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then I’m coming with you, because this one does. I can hear it from here. It’s faint, but it’s definitely there.”

Liam grinned and bent down. Before she knew what he was doing, he had kissed her on the cheek and climbed the rope, leaving her surprised and breathless. “Ready?” he called softly from the window ledge.

“Give me a minute,” she replied. Since the day the fairy had given her the gift that protected her from magic, no one had kissed Annie. Her parents had never come close enough, the servants wouldn’t have dared, and it hadn’t occurred to her friends. But now Liam, a guard without a drop of noble blood, had actually kissed her.

Annie touched her cheek and would have stood there savoring the warm feeling that left her shaky and confused if Cozwald hadn’t called, “Hurry up or we’ll leave you there!”

Sticking her foot in the loop, Annie wrapped the rope around her waist, then called back, “I’m ready!” A moment later she was gliding up the side of the tower, watching the window as it seemed to grow larger. When she reached the ledge, Liam helped her into the room. The moment she set foot on the floor, Cozwald rushed down the hall, his sword in his hand.

Liam shook his head. “The fool has no understanding of stealth. We should have tried to surprise the ogre, but there’s no chance of that now. I want you to stay behind me,” he said, glancing at Annie. “Just let me know when you sense magic.” He took off running after Cozwald with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Annie hitched up her skirts and dashed after him, muttering, “How can I tell him if he runs ahead?”

They found the prince waiting for them at a door at the end of the hall. He was about to open it when Liam put a hand on his arm and turned to Annie. “Does this door have any magic?” he asked her.

Annie shook her head. “Not that I can tell.”

Tightening his grip on his sword, Cozwald shoved the door open and dashed inside. Torches flickered and burst into flame, illuminating the room that had been dark until he entered. A table and two chairs occupied
the center of the room. The remnants of someone’s supper covered the table, the grease on the trenchers already congealed. Aside from a cat licking a platter, the room was unoccupied.

Annie followed the two young men into the room and paused to look around. It seemed innocent enough, although the floor was dirty and the sticky smears on the table showed that it hadn’t been washed for a very long time. The room smelled musky, and she’d just decided that the smell was probably ogre when Cozwald opened the door opposite the one they had entered.

“Wait!” said Annie. She could hear a faint tune coming from the hallway—five notes playing over and over again. The tune was peppy and didn’t sound like anything bad or evil, but any magic meant that they should be cautious. Cozwald didn’t wait, however, and ran out the door, turning down the hallway that ran past it. Liam swore and ran after him. Annie took only a few steps before the door behind her burst open, although she couldn’t recall closing it. She turned, expecting to see a horrible ogre, and was surprised when Cozwald and Liam ran into the room.

They looked stunned to see her. “How did you get ahead of us?” asked Cozwald.

“I asked you to stay behind me,” Liam said.

“I did stay behind,” said Annie.

There was a soft creak as the door began to close on its own. Cozwald turned so abruptly that his sword hit
one of the clay mugs on the table, knocking it to the floor, where it shattered with a crash.

Startled, the cat jumped off the table and ran out of the room before the door had closed all the way. “I tried to tell you that there’s magic around,” said Annie as the two young men headed for the opposite door.

“That cat was probably enchanted,” said Cozwald.

“No, I don’t think that was—,” Annie began, but a loud shriek that seemed to come from everywhere made her stop and look around. The sound was fading away when someone laughed maniacally. Liam and the prince tore out the door.

This time when they disappeared, Annie didn’t try to follow. She had noticed another door covered with the same wood paneling as the walls, as if it was meant to blend in. The floor in front of it was so scuffed, however, that she found it easily. She had started toward the door when Liam and Cozwald burst into the room.

The prince skidded to a stop when he saw her. “You did it again! How do you do that?”

“I haven’t done anything,” said Annie. “You’re the ones who keep running through this room. Haven’t you noticed that it’s the same room every time?”

“She’s right. Here’s the mug you broke,” Liam said, poking the shards with the toe of his boot.

“There’s magic in that hallway,” said Annie. “You’ll never get anywhere if you go that way.”

“Then how do we get out of here?” asked the prince.

“We could try the other door,” Annie said.

The young men seemed confused as their gaze wandered around the room, passing over the hidden seams. “What other door?” asked Liam.

“This one,” said Annie, reaching for the handle. The door opened easily, revealing a staircase going up.

“I told you she could help,” Liam told Cozwald. “Let’s try to be quieter this time. Although I don’t know what good that will do us,” he added under his breath. “We’ve already made more noise than a flock of harpies.”

“Maybe I should go first,” Annie suggested, stepping toward the stairwell.

Both young men rushed to stop her, but it was Liam who planted himself in front of the door. “You can’t go first when we don’t know what you’ll find,” he said.

“I know that there’s magic there, too,” said Annie. She pushed past him and up the stairs. It was plain from Liam’s expression that he wanted to stop her, but wasn’t sure if he should.

Annie could hear the whisper of magic even before she reached the top step. Before setting foot in the hallway, she paused to look both ways. The torches in the hallway at the top of the stairs were already lit. Benches flanked the half-dozen doors that led off to either side. The air was colder here, and smelled stale. Although there were no windows, a light breeze skittered down the hallway, twitching the bottom of a tapestry and dragging
clumps of black dog fur that caught at the legs of the benches and puddled in the corners.

“There’s magic, but I don’t know what it is yet,” Annie told Liam in a soft voice.

“We don’t have time for this,” said Prince Cozwald, pushing past Liam and Annie. “My Lizette is here somewhere and she needs me. Look,” he added as he stepped into the hallway and nothing happened. “There’s no magic. You’re both jumping at shadows.”

The prince strode down the corridor, his shadow growing and shrinking as he walked from the light of one torch to the next. Liam gave Annie a quizzical look and shrugged as he passed her, going after Cozwald.

The whisper grew louder as Annie followed the two young men. The fur was thicker the farther down the hallway they went. Clumps of it cluttered the floor as if someone had brushed a big black dog and dropped the fur on the floor to clean up later, except no one seemed to clean much of anything in this castle.

“This stuff is everywhere,” said Cozwald, stopping to shake the fur off his boot. “Keep your eyes open. There must be a big dog here.”

Liam bent down to pick up a small clump. “Or a bear,” he said, rubbing the fur between his fingers.

The shriek was closer this time, the sound so loud that it made Annie jump and everyone turn their heads to listen. She was still looking the other way when she bumped into Liam. “Why did you stop?” she asked, backing away,
and noticed for the first time that the black fur seemed drawn to Liam’s and Cozwald’s feet, clustering around them like bees drawn to flowers. There was so much fur around them that they had to struggle to pull their feet free. The same fur seemed to avoid Annie entirely.

“It’s the fur,” she said. “The magic is connected to the fur.”

Cozwald laughed. “We didn’t need you to tell us that.”

Fur flew from the far ends of the hallway, piling up around Liam and the prince. “I can’t... get rid of it!” said Cozwald, his face turning red as he tried to pull his foot free.

“Let me help,” said Annie.

The fur moved aside at her approach, leaving a clear path in front of her. She touched Liam first and the fur fell away. After escorting him to a bench, she went back for Cozwald, who was engulfed up to his thighs in what looked like furry boots. The black covering rippled when Annie touched the prince, then slid off as if he’d been greased. The fur undulated behind her as she walked him to the bench, keeping her hand on his arm until he had stepped onto it.

With Annie in the way, the fur was unable to reach its quarry. Loose strands retreated down the hallway, moving together into a large, seething mass. As clumps of fur piled one on top of another, they took on a roughly man-like shape with long fuzzy fingers and toes. When it was
almost as tall as Liam, the figure turned its hollow eyes and gaping mouth toward them.

“It’s hideous!” exclaimed Cozwald.

“It looks like my great-uncle Elgin!” Liam announced. “My mother always said he was the hairiest man she’d ever met.”

“Then I pity your family,” said Cozwald.

The beast roared and dragged one foot toward them. Cozwald tightened his grip on his sword. “What does it want?” he asked, and reached up with his free hand to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear.

“I doubt it wants your hair,” said Annie. “Look out!”

The fur beast had swiped at Cozwald with its massive hand. When the prince stepped back, he nearly fell off the bench.

“A good offense is the best defense!” shouted Liam. Raising his sword, he jumped to the floor and lunged for the man made of fur.

Cozwald followed Liam and together they hacked at the beast, cutting wedges of fur from its body that crawled back and reattached themselves. The beast seemed to be waiting for something as it stood there, letting the young men stab and cut away pieces without even trying to avoid their blows.

Liam seemed to realize this first, because he stepped aside long enough to study the beast. “That isn’t working,” he told Cozwald, who continued to rain blows on the giant wad of fur.

“What did you say?” asked the prince, pausing to glance at Liam.

The fur beast lunged, wrapping its frizzy hands around Cozwald’s throat.

“Mph!” said the prince, his eyes frantic as he tried to hack at the beast with the side of his blade.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” said Annie. “Put that thing down before you hurt someone.” When the prince continued to wave his sword around, Annie whispered something in Liam’s ear. He nodded and jumped forward to knock the sword from Cozwald’s hand. The prince’s eyes were beginning to bulge when Annie walked up behind the beast and wrapped her arms around its middle. It made a high-pitched keening sound and collapsed in a shower of fur.

Annie coughed and wiped her face. “That’s disgusting! I got some in my mouth. Pleh!” She spat, trying to get rid of it.

“You’re covered with fur,” said Liam, patting her back and arms. “Come help us, Cozwald.”

The prince backed away. “And get that fur on me? I’m about to rescue my ladylove. I don’t want her to see me looking like I slept in a kennel.”

“But it’s all right for me to look like this?” asked Annie.

Cozwald shrugged. “That was your choice.”

“Be polite to the princess!” Liam growled at the prince. “We’re helping you because we chose to, but we can always choose to turn and walk away.”

Cozwald’s eyes flashed and he opened his mouth as if to protest, but he must have seen something in Liam’s eyes, because his own gaze dropped and he muttered, “Sorry.”

Annie clenched her teeth so she wouldn’t say what she had in mind. Before she could unclench them, a groan drew Cozwald to the end of the hallway. Another loud shriek and the sound of crazed laughter made Liam run through a dwindling cloud of drifting black fur to join the prince. “Here, take the other side,” Liam told him, indicating one of the benches. Using the bench as a battering ram, they bashed in the door and tore into the room.

Cozwald stumbled over a small trunk that had been left just inside the door. He fell sprawling at the dainty feet of the princess, who looked up from her hand of cards and cried out, her green eyes dark with alarm. The ogre seated on the other side of the table looked equally surprised to see the intruders.

Annie was right behind Liam and Cozwald, certain that she should have gone in first, but when she saw what was inside, she wasn’t sure what to think. The room was large and elegantly furnished with a polished stone fireplace and thick rugs in crimson, yellow, and green. A wide bed piled high with warm furs filled one end of the room; the table and chairs occupied the other. The oddly matched couple had been playing cards, and it was obvious that the princess had been winning; a stack of gold
coins rested by her elbow, while only a few copper coins littered the ogre’s side of the table. The princess was a beautiful young woman with hair as black as night, but she didn’t look beautiful with her mouth hanging open as she stared at the intruders, the cards in her hand forgotten. On the other side of the table, a wide grin disappeared from the face of the scraggly bearded ogre, whose eyebrows met in the middle over his bleary red eyes. Seated, he didn’t seem to be much taller than the princess, but Annie could see his long legs stretched out under the table.